Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus on Friday received its first payment under the European Union’s Security Action for Europe (Safe) defence procurement programme, with €177.2 million disbursed to the government. The sum represents 15 per cent of Cyprus’ total allocation of nearly €1.2 billion.
European Commission statement
The European Commission said the funds will “enable Cyprus to advance key defence investments, reinforce resilience, and upgrade its military capabilities in line with common European objectives”.
European Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the pre-financing for Cyprus under Safe shows Europe’s commitment to strengthening common security and defence.
“This support will help Cyprus invest faster in the capabilities it needs, while contributing to our common European objectives of a stronger, more resilient, and more connected defence industry. Safe is about solidarity, readiness, and ensuring that member states can deliver for Europe’s security together,” he said.
Loan agreement and member state participation
The disbursement followed the signing of a loan agreement between the Cypriot government and the European Commission earlier this month. Cyprus was the sixth EU member state to sign such an agreement, after Poland, Lithuania, Croatia, Romania and Belgium signed theirs last month.
Poland was the first country to receive funds, obtaining a little more than €6.5 billion at the end of last month from the almost €44 billion to which it is entitled under the scheme. Poland is the largest recipient of Safe programme funding among EU member states.
Cyprus’ defence investment plans
Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said last year that the funding would allow the National Guard to acquire military hardware to “cover [its] priorities” until 2030.
He said the Safe programme had come about “at a time when the European Union’s needs to cover shortcomings are significant”, and when “the mobilisation of equipment programmes and joint procurement programmes is becoming urgent”.
“The €150bn which will be invested by member states in the joint procurement of high-tech weapons systems is expected to be the trigger for a new promising era for European defence, with the ultimate goal of autonomy, technological dominance, and resilience,” he said.
Approval of the investment plan
Cyprus’ investment plan was approved by the Council of the EU in February, with President Nikos Christodoulides describing the Safe programme at the time as “an important financial tool”.